Compassion never goes out of style

There are things in this world that we love, however, we have no idea how it gets to us. I am talking about the leather products that surround us in our daily lives.

Shoes, handbags, belts, wallets, car interiors, furniture, jewelry and so much more. Have you ever thought that every single one of these items was a living animal at one time or another?

The leather industry is not always a direct by-product of the meat industry. Quite a few of these animals are slaughtered for their hides. In India we have heard that cows are sacred. While that may be true in some areas, in other areas when the animal gets old and is no longer looked upon as a sacred soul, they are sold to an underground leather industry where killing them is allowed. But for these animals it is a very slow and barbaric death. They are connected to one another by a ring in the nose and chained to the animal in front and behind them while they make the long walk to the trucks that will transport them. Then they have hot peppers and tobacco rubbed into their eyes so they are unable to sleep on the way to the slaughterhouse. The animal is hung upside down while still alive and then their throats are slit so they can bleed out and bleed to death. Imagine being the animals that are seeing the fate that awaits them. They do feel pain and emotion. I don’t know about you, but I do not want to be a part of that industry.

You might think that you are receiving cow hides and pig hides when you purchase leather. However, sometimes the hides are mislabeled because the company knows that the end consumer would never know the difference. You may be purchasing leather which came from dog, cat, seal, bison, deer and even zebra. As well as even domestic horse hide.

Besides the obvious statement that purchasing leather means taking a life, think about the chemicals that it takes to tan the hides and dye the leathers. Some of these chemical components are the most toxic chemicals used today. Chromium 6 is a heavy metal compound that can cause skin ulcers, respiratory irritations and even increase the odds of lung, nasal and sinus cancers. These are the conditions that humans can be exposed to. Think about the environment, these chemicals have polluted our waterways and created dead zones in most rivers around the areas where these tanning factories are located. The health of the workers and residences has been compromised in such a massive way, that many are paying the ultimate price, with their life.

I invite you to think about this when you make your next shoe purchase.
Sustainably Yours,